Finger grip means for gridles



April 14, 1970 G. STACY 3,506,015

FINGER GRIP MEANS FOR GIRDLES Filed Aug. 28, 1967 ATTOIZNE YS United States Patent 3,506,015 FINGER GRIP MEANS FOR GRIDLES Gertrude Stacy, 4310 N. Damen Ave., Chicago, lll. 60618 Filed Aug. 28, 1967, Ser. No. 663,727 Int. Cl. A41c J/00 U.S. Cl. 128-576 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Finger grip means for facilitating upward movement of a girdle over the flesh of a wearer and for minimizing stretching of the girdle in pulling it on, and also to strengthen and reinforce the girdle. The nger grip means comprises a pair of sections of fabric material secured on opposite sides of a girdle and pleated to provide vertically displaced generally horizontally extending strips located at points of highest effectiveness, i.e. on the leg-encircling, hip-encircling and waist-encircling portions of the girdle. The linger grip means is in the form of one or more appliques adapted to be secured to an existing girdle.

This invention relates to girdles and more particularly to linger grip means which facilitate upward movement of a girdle over the flesh of a wearer and to minimize stretching of the girdle in pulling it on, while also strengthening and reinforcing the girdle.

The term girdle is used herein in a generic sense to include any type of garment, usable by either sex, which is arranged to stretch and tightly embrace the waist, hip and leg portions of a wearers body.

Girdles of the prior art have been very difficult to pull on, particularly when they are tight-fitting and where the wearer has loose, liabby flesh creating considerable friction and binding action, and the diiiiculties have been increased in hot, sultry weather due to the existence of perspiration. Persons having weak grips and lacking in agility, especially older persons, have experienced particular difficulties and troubles have also been experienced in straining of muscles and the breaking of fingernails. In some cases, displays of temper 'have resulted, adversely affecting other persons as well as the person putting on the girdle. In addition, the material of the girdles has been stretched unduly at certain points, resulting in tearing of the fabric and rendering the girdle unlit for further use.

This invention was evolved with the general object of overcoming the difiiculties experienced with girdles of the prior art and of providing girdles which are easy to pull on while being strong and durable.

Another object of the invention is to provide a girdle which is easy to put on while presenting a substantially smooth outer shape without projections or bulges which might be visible through outer garments.

According to this invention linger grip means are provided for receiving the fingers of a wearer to facilitate upward movement of a girdle over the flesh of the wearer to minimize stretching of the girdle in pulling on the girdle.

Important features of the invention relate to the location of the finger grip means at key points of highest effectiveness. =In particular, the finger grip means are preferably located on opposite sides of the girdle and it is found to be especially advantageous to provide the finger grip means at points at which the hip-encircling and waist-encircling portions of the girdle adjoin. It is also advantageous to locate the finger grip means on the hip-encircling and legencircling portions. The finger grip means are provided at a plurality of points, because the wearer can sequentially apply the pulling forces at the points at which friction is the greatest.

3,506,015 Patented Apr. 14, 1970 In accordance with a specific feature of the invention, the finger grip means includes at least one generally horizontally extending strip of material and means for securing` opposite ends of the strip to the girdle so that the strip is tightly stretched and lies flat upon putting on of the girdle. Preferably, means are provided for securing at least one intermediate point of the strip to the girdle to provide additional strength.

In accordance with another specific feature of the invention, two series of vertically displaced horizontally extending strips of material are provided along the opposite sides of the girdle, preferably with each series of strips being formed by pleating a section of fabric material.

A further feature of the invention relates to the provision of linger grip means which lare in the form of one or more appliques adapted for attachment to an existing girdle.

This invention contemplates other objects, features and advantages which will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments and in which:

FIGURE l is a perspective View of a girdle constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side-elevational view of the girdle of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along line III-III of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a side-elevational view similar to FIG- URE 2, but illustrating the modified construction.

Reference numeral 10 generally designates a girdle constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention. In general, the girdle 10 includes a waist-encircling portion 11, an intermediate hip-encircling portion 12 and a leg-encircling portion 13. The illustrated girdle 10 is a panty type of girdle in which the leg-encircling portion 13 is divided into two sections 13a and 13b each adapted t0 encircle the upper portion of a leg. It will be understood, however, that the leg-encircling portion may be in the form of a single section forming a continuation of the hipencircling portion and extending around both legs, without any crotch. The illustrated girdle includes a front panel 14 of relatively non-stretchable material while the remainder of the girdle is of a stretchable material. It will be understood that substantially the entire girdle may be made of a stretchable material, if desired.

In accordance with this invention, finger grip means generally designated by reference numerals 15 and 16 are provided along the opposite sides of the girdle 10 which are in the form of a pair of sections of a stretchable fabric material which are pleated to form a series of vertically displaced horizontally extending strips of material, the opposite ends of each strip being stitched or other- Wise secured to the stretchable fabric material of the girdle. In particular, the opposite side edges of the section 16 are secured to the fabric material of the girdle by means of lines of stitching 17 and 18 and preferably, an additional line of stitching 19 is provided at a central position intermediate the lines 17 and 18, for additional strength.

In the illustrated arrangement, the section 16 has ten pleats 21-30 each of which provides a generally horizontally extending strip of material. In addition, a pair of strips 31 and 32 are provided at lthe upper end which extend generally horizontally but with the lower edges inclined upwardly and converging at a central point.

Additional finger grip means are provided on the upper portion of the front panel 14, in the form of a pair of strips 33 and 34 which are similar to the strips 31 and 32 and which have lower edges inclined upwardly and converging at a central point of the upper end of the panel 14.

With this arrangement, the wearer can readily insert 1er fingers under the strips at points where pulling force s required to move the girdle upwardly over the flesh. [t is important to note that the finger grip means 15 and l6 on the sides of the girdle are formed of a stretchable material similar to that of the girdle itself and when the girdle is put on, the plea-ts of the finger grip means are lightly stretched to lie substantially flat and to present 1o substantial projections or bulges which might be visible hrough outer garments. In this connection, the thickness 3f the material is greatly exaggerated in the sectional View )f FIGURE 3, to facilitate illustration. The sections 33 1nd 34 on the upper portion of the front panel 14 may preferably be of a non-stretchable material similar to :hat of the panel 14.

FIGURE 4 illustrates a modified girdle generally deslgnated by reference numeral 36 which is similar to the girdle and which includes a waist-encircling portion 37, a hip-encircling portion 38 and a leg-encircling por- ,ion 39. Three finger grip means 40, 41 and 42 are pro- /ided along each side of the girdle 10, the finger grip means 40 being located where the waist-encircling portion 37 and the hip-encircling portion 38 adjoin, the finger grip means 41 being located on the hip-encircling portion 38 and the finger grip means 42 being located on the legencircling portion 39. The finger grip means 40 are preferably comprised of a pair of strips 43 and 44 formed by pleating in a manner similar to the formation of the strips 31 and 32, the strips 43 and 44 having lower edges which are inclined upwardly and which converge to meet at a central point. The finger grip means 41 and the inger grip means 42 are each preferably in the form of 1 trapezoid having side edges inclined upwardly and inwardly, the side and upper edges being stitched or otherwise secured to the girdle 36. Preferably, lines of stitching or tacking 45 or 46 are provided at intermediate points of the finger grip means 41 and 42.

It is noted that in both constructions, the finger grip means may be provided on the girdle during manufacture thereof, or they may be in the form of appliques to be attached to an existing girdle. The separate finger grip means 40, 41 and 42 are, of course, more readily applied to an existing girdle.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of this invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a girdle of stretchable material including a waistencircling portion, an intermediate hip-encircling portion and a leg-encircling portion, finger grip means for receiving the lingers of a wearer to facilitate upward movement of said girdle over the flesh of the wearer and to minimize stretching of said material in pulling on said girdle, said finger grip means including a pair of strips of material, securing means for securing said pair of strips on opposite sides of the girdle, said securing means including means for securing opposite ends of each strip to horizontally spaced points at substantially equal distances from the upper edge of said waist-encircling portion with the horizontal spacing between said points being such that said strips are tightly stretched to lie flat upon putting on of said girdle, and said securing means further including means for securing an intermediate portion 'of each strip to said girdle to provide additional strength.

2. In a girdle as defined in claim 1, said linger grip means including at least one additional pair of strips, additional securing means for securing said additional pair of strips on opposite sides of the girdle and in vertically spaced generally aligned relation to the first-mentioned pair of strips, said additional securing means including means for securing opposite ends of each strip of said additional pair of strips to horizontally spaced points at substantially equal distances from the upper edgeof said waist-encircling portion with the horizontal spacing between said points being such that said strips are tightly stretched to lie flat upon putting on of said girdle, and saib additional securing means further including means for securing an intermediate portion of each strip to said girdle.

3. In a girdle as defined in claim 2, said first-mentioned and additional pair of strips being formed by pleating sections of a fabric material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,751,506 3/1930 Bowne 12S-541 2,643,383 6/1953 Brzozowski 128--576 2,860,640 l1/l958 Clark 128--540 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

